Critical observations of print/broadcast/Web media plus public relations and advertising

May 10, 2011

S.F. police find no terrorism link to cockpit door pounder

Soon after the arrest of an unruly air passenger who was wrestled to the cabin floor after shouting in a foreign language while pounding on the cockpit door of an American Airlines 737 just before it landed at San Francisco International Airport Sunday night, police declared there was no terrorism link, observes Grumpy Editor.

An Associated Press story filed 10 hours after the plane landed, quotes a San Francisco police spokesman saying the 28-year-old with a Yemeni passport taken into custody had no known ties to terrorism.

That’s a speedy checkout considering warnings are being issued on possible terror plots following the death of Osama bin Laden.

And it comes at a time when even a baby’s diaper is patted down on the same day by Transportation Security Administration agents at Kansas City International Airport. (View the TSA action here.)

On the San Francisco-bound 737, it took several people, including a retired Secret Service agent and a retired police officer, to subdue the male passenger about 10 minutes before landing on a flight that originated from New York City with a stop in Chicago.

The Bay Area disturbance was the third of the day.

Previously, a Continental 737 from Houston to Chicago was diverted to St. Louis after a man attempted to open the aircraft’s door. Earlier, a Delta flight from Detroit to San Diego was diverted to Albuquerque where officials investigated an undisclosed security threat.